Prosecutor awaits reports in Littmann case; talks about safety on the road

While he awaits the sheriff’s reports laying out the details of the crash that killed Jeff Littmann, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel has been fielding calls from local cyclists worried about the dangers on local roads.

He shares their concerns.

While unable to talk specifics about the Littmann case, the veteran prosecutor was forthright about cycling issues and escalating conflicts in a phone conversation last week. He had met Littmann a couple times, and like most everyone else, considered his death to be “a terrible tragedy.”

“It’s been a rough year for cyclists in this county,” Schimel said, referring to the three bicyclists killed in crashes involving cyclists and motor vehicles.

In particular, the district attorney said he is troubled by the increasing use of cell phones and other electronic devices that distract motorists.

“It’s unacceptable, the percentage of people who drive with the phone to their ear,” Schimel said. “I don’t see good things coming from that.

“Drivers need to be focused on the task at hand: driving.”

To be clear, Schimel has not yet received any information to show whether the driver in the Littmann crash on Oct. 1 was using a phone when he drove into the 56-year-old cyclist on Wisconsin Ave. in Nashotah.

If there was a phone in the car, Schimel expects to receive the records on that point through the driver’s consent or a subpoena.

The driver, Kyle Dieringer, 25, of Nashotah, told sheriff’s deputies he was blinded by the morning sun and hit Littmann and Lauren Jensen before he saw them traveling eastbound in front of him. Jensen was injured, but is home recovering.

The crew from the Bicycle Doctor in Dousman placed the Ghost Bikes as part of a memorial at the crash site. Photo by Mike Sears, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

At some point, Schimel will decide whether he believes Dieringer committed a crime.

In a somewhat similar case earlier this year, the district attorney determined no criminal charges were warranted against Samuel Weirick, who drove into Brett Netke on Highway 18 in the Town of Summit on Father’s Day. Netke died, and Weirick paid a $114 citation for failing to yield the three-feet of clearance required by law when overtaking a bicycle.

Because the infraction resulted in a death, Weirick also had his license suspended for one year.

Schimel said he found Weirick made a mistake when he misjudged the time he had to pass Netke, who was pedaling eastbound ahead of him. Oncoming traffic closed the gap sooner than Weirick had anticipated.

Juries weighing that charge are instructed to consider whether the driver knowingly created an “unreasonable and substantial risk of death or great bodily harm.” That requires prosecutors to show the driver’s actions went beyond an error in judgment.

To provide authorities with another alternative, a number of states have adopted vulnerable user laws. The statutes provide additional penalties for motorits who kill or severely injure bicyclists, pedestrians and workers while committing driving violations.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin will seek to have a similar law introduced during the next legislative session, according to Kevin Hardman, the executive director.

It’s likely to be several weeks before Schimel receives the reports from the sheriff’s investigation in the Littmann case. When that happens, he’ll look to determine if the driver was reckless, impaired or inattentive.

Regardless of the outcome, the prosecutor made it clear he understands that cyclists have a right to be ride on the road and need to obey the rules.

Brett Netke didn’t violate any traffic law and the preliminary reports show that Jeff Littmann also was riding legally when he was killed, Schimel said.

And, living in the Town of Genesee, he often sees groups of cyclists on the road; some of them training in full team gear, others enjoying the scenery. Sometimes, motorists have to wait a bit to pass them safely, and they should, he said.

Those packs of colorful bicyclists aren’t a nuisance, but “part of the ambience of living in the country.”

Memorials: Dozens of cyclists gathered at Littman’s bike shop, Attitude Sports in Pewaukee, and biked in his honor on Sunday morning. It was a day after his funeral in Cudahy. Jason Kayzar wrote about the ride on his blog and CBS Channel 58 provided this video report.

In a tribute to her stepfather, Ashley James raced in the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival on Sunday in a gray skinsuit, an oversized version of the kit that Littmann favored. Her race was more impressive than her clothing, a fourth-place finish among the elite competition.

Safety tips: In keeping with Schimel's main point - the roads should be safer - we'll share a few links to guides for drivers and bikers. First this from the Bicycle Federation, and this from Bicycling Magazine.

"Question to the haters: What will cause you more personal harm? A bike rider blowing a stop sign or a car rolling through the same sign?"

Neither. For me it would be the fact that I accidently took the life of another human being! On bike or vehicle. But maybe certain stretches of road are not meant for bike traffic. I look at that photo , and I see no paved shoulder for a bike to safely travel. Maybe that's more the issue than who to blame?

That road is a dedicated bike route. It was designated so by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. It is the same people who do not support cycling infrastructure because it is a "want" not a "need" that say that cyclists do not belong on certain roads. Well which one is it? Please have some respect for the deceased, this is clearly an inappropriate time to blame cyclists for incidents on the road. Can't you commenters make the distinction that many cyclists are also drivers and that very few people are solely a cyclist?

@GT2000; Whoa down there speed racer! No disrespect intended to anyone and I'm not blaming anyone. I'm merely stating that it could be more constructive to make the "designated" bike paths safer , by giving them a shoulder to ride on.

Oddly enough, there used to be larger paved shoulders on Waukesha county roads a handful of years ago. Cost to repave/maintain those shoulders must've been deemed too high because those shoulders were later covered with gravel, thereby eliminating the paved shoulder for riding. Not a good change.

The law does allow for riding on the roads. However, I do like the cushion of a decent paved shoulder if I'm on a road with relatively high speed limits.

Another note about that road: It's a frontage road. There are entrances/exits on Hwy 16 yards away from that road on the exit between the Okauchee exit and Hwy C bridge, which is visible at the top of the picture above. So alternate motorways are readily available for motorists to use.

I agree with everyone who has noted that the deaths of cyclists is a tragedy. But, I believe that cyclists should not be on busy roads or rural highways. They are putting their lives at risk. Less traveled roads and bike routes should be used if at all possible. The roadways are designed for cars and other motor vehicles. No one wants this type of tragedy. Remember it is also a tragedy for the person driving the car.

Everyone be very careful. Just remember this is the same DA who passedno blame on a speeding cop who took out a 17 year-old boy, and basically told the boy's parents thatif their son had not been injured so badily that he would have had a ticket issued to him, all th ewhile making excuses for the cop.

What I do wonder is this: The motorist could not see because of sun glare. Isn't this impaired visibility akin to driving in fog? Would there be any charge/citation if I drove into the back of a car stopped to make a left turn in fog because I could not see them?

It's a terrible tragedy. But impaired visibility seems to be the culprit here, not anything else. A shoulder may have helped but maybe not.

I would think there would be other precedents in cases where visibility was severely limited. Blinding sun, fog or snow... shouldn't be any difference.

You all can blame the cyclist all you want, but as the article points out, preliminary reports show he was riding legally. The driver may have also been doing everything correctly and this is just a tragic accident, I'm a runner and I can tell you that I see WAY more drivers not paying attention and not obeying the rules of the road than I do drivers who are courteous and paying attention to their surroundings. It's gotten to the point where I'm too scared to run anywhere except my (fairly) quiet subdivision and even then, I almost get hit on just about every run. From people who don't look behind them or down the street when pulling out of their driveways to the cars running stop signs--I once counted on a 3 mile run and every single one of the 16 cars I saw went right through the stop signs because there were no cars coming, even though there were other pedestrians. One of them even squealed his tires, he took the corner (with a stop sign) so fast. And for those of you who are saying "Just run on the sidewalks", I CAN'T because there are cars parked over the sidewalks at every other house. I'm supposed to risk spraining my ankle jumping over the curb just so drivers are free to disobey the rules of the road and ignore common sense? Gimme a break...

We all need to get along on the roadways and realize that the driver, cyclist, runner, walker, etc. is another human being and not an enemy that is trying to make you late for work. Many of us have no choice but to bike down busy streets because that's where we live... and we have the right to do so w/o risking our lives. As gas prices continue to rise and this recession continues to linger, there will be more cyclist on the road and we all need to learn how to get along together. Cylists... obey the rules of the road. Drivers... don't pretend like braking a little bit is going to kill you (because not using the brake might kill someone else.)

"Would there be any charge/citation if I drove into the back of a car stopped to make a left turn in fog because I could not see them?"

Yes...but not because of the fog. It would be because you hit another vehicle rather than a cyclist. Car on pedestrian crashes seem to result in far fewer charges/tickets than car on car crashes. Of course, that could just be my perception.

As a casual cyclist I get frustrated seeing cyclists (and I'm using that term loosely for some of these people) blow stop signs, ride on the sidewalk, etc. But that pales in comparison to the bad behaviors a lot of motorists show. Texting while driving, drunk driving, inattentive driving, aggressive driving, the list goes on. They are all completely unacceptable. I'd rather see a cyclist leave a red light a little early when there's no cross traffic coming than someone rear end someone while texting.

and tangenjr, I pay to use the roads just as much as you. I drive a car, pay gas taxes, registration fees, and other taxes that build and maintain roads. However I do agree that EVERYONE, drivers and cyclists alike, need to learn and respect the rules of the road. Don't go pinning this just on cyclists.

If you want to know how dangerous the country roads in Waukesha County really are, just stand on the side of your favorite cycling road and watch the young punks go rocketing past you at 95 mph while they're talking on their phones and blasting music through their 4,000 watt amplifier.

(And don't forget, there is no law enforcement patrolling the country roads and the lousy punks like 25 year old Kyle Dieringer and 22 year old Samuel Weirick know it.)

Not taking any side, just posing a question. If bicycles are to be allowed on the road why aren't they required to adorn lights, mirrors, and slow moving vehicle indicators like any motorized vehicle would need to? I'm not suggesting any of these would have prevented any of these tragedies. However, if bicycles are going to be viewed as vehicles, then they should be required to have some level of safety equipment on par with what is expected of other vehicles.

I live in a very rural area, where at times only a car or two may pass. Unfortunately, one vehicle is all it takes. As for bike trails, some of those are crowded, and I see many a cyclist, runner, walker, etc. wearing headphones at a volume where I am literally yelling at them that I am coming up on them, only for them to get spooked, and look at me like I did something wrong. It does not matter if it is a person on a bike trail or a person in a car, if they think that the roads are only for them , I am afraid to say that accidents of this nature will continue to happen. All we can do is ride defensively, be very aware, pick routes better suited to cyclists(to lower the odds of getting hit), and say a prayer.

Re the terrible, senseless and untimely passing of Milwaukee road cyclist Jeff Littmann, I honestly, I no longer believe bikes and cars are compatible on the same roads in the US.

Too many drunks, stoners, massive SUVs full of movie-watching kids and petite over caffeinated soccer moms on cell phones, bike-hating A-Type male BMW drivers, red necks in pickups, beer-can throwing jerks. Bottom line, almost everybody in America is alone in a car these days and in a hurry.

We need to go to the Dutch fietspad system, where every street and road in the country has two seperate bike paths, coming and going, on either side. Every city avenue and country lane in Nederland has 'em there, by LAW:

I've ridden with road pros in Holland who will only train on bike paths. We need to do the same here and stop all this hopeless lobbying for 3' of painted bike lane that nobody in cars cares about. This is how they train in Nederland. Flat out fast, but also respecting commuters on the fietspad. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVMSzO5bDRg

If you think it's bad here, check out this government official in CANADA, where you would think things are more progressive. He's a morbidly obese doof, but he's also actually right, re painted bike paths and road cyclists in North America:

You own a car, not the road. There are laws for cyclists and for motorists. And they are actually about the same, the only difference is the changes of the vehicle/bicycle. Perhaps more people need to read the laws of a cyclist in the DMV handbook. We have the same rights and rules of the road. Bicycles are the better way to go, they don't run on Dinosaurs or pollute the environment as much and are GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH.

This is for California but is basically the same in every state.http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/shr_slow_veh.htm#bike